The present invention relates to an apparatus for handling sheets of paper for automatic cash deposition and withdrawal.
Generally, an apparatus for handling sheets of paper (automatic teller machine) of this type is installed for direct operation by a customer inside or outside an outlet of a financial institution such as a bank or operated by the teller at the window. Such machine is exclusively used by the customer or the teller respectively and therefore occupies a large floor space and is high in cost. In order to improve this situation, an automatic teller machine has been developed which has a plurality of transaction ports and is produced at a reduced cost. This type of machine is disclosed in JP-A-59-27385, JP-A-59-119497, JP-A-63-188289 and JP-A-59-197990, of which the one disclosed in JP-A-59-197990 is installed on the bank counter.
This conventional machine, however, fails to take into full consideration the shortening of the time of two transactions which may be simultaneously conducted in a plurality of transaction ports. Specifically, when a plurality of transaction ports are engaged in different types of transactions, or the same types of transactions such as depositions or withdrawals, one may be processing a transaction while the other remains out of operation so that the user of the particular transaction port has to wait until the completion of the transaction at the other port. As a result, the services to the users are deteriorated and the provision of a plurality of transaction ports on each machine is substantially meaningless.
Also, in spite of the difference in the nature of the work handled by the teller and the customer, the apparatus has a common operating section for the transaction ports, thus lacking due consideration of the user not accustomed to handling the machine or the refilling of notes. More specifically, the machine disclosed in JP-A-59-27385 or JP-A-59-119497 requires a refilling cassette to be prepared or the cassette in the apparatus to be refilled with notes in case of shortage of notes while the machine is not in operation. If the frequency of refilling notes is to be reduced, a large-sized cassette for accommodating notes is required, thus making the whole machine inconveniently bulky. Further, the refilling of notes requires an exclusive route and mechanism, which complicates the construction, thereby leading not only to a higher cost but also to a lower reliability.
In the machine disclosed in JP-A-59-197990, on the other hand, a user is unable to occupy the operating section (transaction ports) exclusively. The transaction operations cannot be performed at one place.
Furthermore, the machines in the related art have to be redesigned considerably in case of repositioning of the operating section or changing the number of component units to meet the customer needs. Since notes are carried by being held in belts, for example, it is difficult to modify the package and the machine has a smaller scope of meeting different requirements of installation on the counter of in-house lobby, teller-side place or the style of installation on front and rear sides. The unavoidable result is the operation limited on one side or on the opposite sides, thus rendering the machine fail to keep abreast with the ever-multiplying present-day demands.